CALL FOR CABINET TO QUIT GROWS

The Swaziland Coalition
of Concerned Civic Organisations and the Constituent Assembly call on the Prime
Minister of Swaziland Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini and the rest of his Cabinet to
resign immediately and avoid dragging His Majesty King Mswati III into
political matters.

His Majesty said at the
United Nations General Assembly last month “We believe in the full
participation of all citizens from the grass roots in the decision making
process”. The facts of the matter are clear. When the people spoke
at Sidla Inhloko in June and at Sibaya in August they demanded
that this Cabinet be removed. When MPs, commendably reflecting the will
of the people, passed the vote of no confidence in cabinet they were not merely
commenting on the telecommunications industrial issues but on the
underperformance of the Cabinet and government as a whole. This is no
longer a contractual issue but a political one, their failure to abide by the
constitution violates the very rule of law they claim protection from.

It is clear that this
government has lost the mandate of the people and its present actions are
provoking another Constitutional Crisis to rival The Prime Minister’s previous
refusal in 28 November 2002 to recognise unfavourable Court
Rulings.

The Prime Minister and
the Cabinet now have a clear choice. They can do the honourable thing and
show the world that Swaziland is a constitutional democracy by resigning.
If they cling to their positions they will further dishonour the international
reputation of Swaziland by telling the world that our Constitution is a lie.